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Huntsman aggressive and surging. SC guv: Mormon faith not concern for voters. Candidates running outside district new norm.
Happy Monday. We are just one day out from the New Hampshire primaries. Jon Huntsman has staked everything on this first primary and with only hours to go, he seems to be gaining some steam. New polls show him within striking distance of taking second to Mitt Romney, though it's unclear if the former Utah governor can pull a Rick Santorum-like move in the Granite State. [Trib]
-> Sunday proved to be one of the best days for online fund-raising for the Huntsman camp. A campaign source says they had their biggest day so far for raising cash, pulling in $150,000 online.
Topping the news: Romney hits Huntsman over his time as President Obama's ambassador to China. [Trib] [WaPost] And Huntsman fires back saying Romney was raising money for politicians, while he was serving his country. [Trib] [LATimes] [CBSNews]
-> Romney says he knows what it is like to fear that you may lose your job, but he doesn't provide details. [Globe]
-> Breaking a basic rule of politics, a whole group of Utahns are running for Congress in districts where they do not live. [Trib]
Today's news: Utah has a new sheriff keeping an eye on the Medicaid program. [Trib]
-> A new survey says the state needs to pick up more of the higher ed tab. [Trib]
-> State Sen. Ben McAdams will try once again to make it easier recoup money lost in a fraud. [Trib]
Opinion section: Mark Shurtleff touts his office's ability to go after undocumented immigrants who commit major crimes. [Trib]
-> Former Gov. Mike Leavitt explains why he thinks Utah should change its nominating process. [DNews]
-> Sen. Orrin Hatch explains his priorities for the coming year. The first one won't shock you - he wants to reduce spending. [DNews]
-> Rolly says the Legislature recycles another bad idea - eliminating daylight savings. [Trib] He also describes the colorful history of county auditors. [Trib]
-> Bagley's take on Huntsman, not Romney, getting the Boston Globe endorsement. [Trib]
-> Pignanelli and Webb discuss the importance of New Hampshire for Huntsman and Romney. [DNews]
-> Add The Trib to the list of newspapers that have endorsed Huntsman. [Trib]
-> Kenneth Star, former special prosecutor, asks "Can I vote for a Mormon?" [WaPost]
-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett says it's time to bite the bullet and restructure entitlement programs. [DNews]
Tweets of the day: From @HotlineReid: "Romney secretly plans to make Huntsman ambassador to Siberia if he wins."
From @samsteinhp: "When Romney said there were times he 'wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip' he was talking abt a receipt from the dry cleaners."
Happy Birthday: to KUER's Elaine Clark.
On the move: Sen. Mike Lee hired Boyd Matheson to be his state director. Matheson was a driving force in his campaign. He replaces Dan Hauser who has decided to move on.
2012 watch: Everyone piles on front runner Mitt Romney at the last New Hampshire debate. [WaPost] [NYTimes]
-> Romney and Huntsman are distant cousins and the campaign is adding to that distance. [Trib]
-> Bloomberg looks at how Utahns' loyalties are divided with two favorite sons in the presidential race. [Bloomberg]
-> Huntsman's campaign may start and end in New Hampshire. [DNews] [WaPost] And some Granite State residents have been impressed with his campaign. [DNews]
-> Romney may be the front runner now, but New Hampshire has a history of undercutting the man at the top. [NYTimes]
-> Romney's rivals will do their best on the last full day of campaigning to trip up the front-runner. [AP]
-> South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she doesn't think Romney's Mormon faith will be a problem in the state's primary. [DailyCaller] And the state seems much more receptive to Romney this time around. [AP]
-> Romney's tax plan would add $600 billion to the deficit. [WaPost]
-> Mike Huckabee says Romney may run the table this primary season. [ABCNews]
-> South Carolina Republicans are not known for their love of Mormons, but Romney still embraces his faith in a mailing there. [CNN]
-> Huntsman calls the debates "terrible" and has a few suggestions on how to improve the format. [USAToday]
-> Ron Paul's camp calls the anti-Huntsman ad "disgusting" and said they had nothing to do with it. [Trib]
-> Newt Gingrich said Bain Capital, where Romney made his name, looted companies. [NYTimes] And a pro-Gingrich super PAC has prepared a $1 million campaign in South Carolina to rip Romney's work with Bain. [LATimes]
Weekend in review: State Sen. Pat Jones wants to ban minors from using tanning beds. [Trib]
-> Utah has 10 times more sex offenders locked up than it did 30 years ago, an alarming number that officials say is actually progress. [Trib]
-> Get to know Utah's new U.S. Attorney, David Barlow. [Trib]
-> Rep. Chris Herrod officially announces his run for U.S. Senate, joining incumbent Orrin Hatch and former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist. [Trib] [Herald] [DNews]
-> Tea party leader David Kirkham has his sights trained on Gov. Gary Herbert's job. [Trib] [DNews]
Where are they?
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-- Matt Canham
Twitter.com/mattcanham
